Italian Series: Cinque Terre

I've always dreamed of wandering the streets of Cinque Terre - the colorful houses placed too closely together on the edge of a mountain near the sea seemed like an impossibly beautiful scenery, almost too dreamy to be true. Cinque Terre means five lands in Italian, and it stands for the 5 beautiful little villages that are almost nearly impossible to access with a car: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso.  Cinque Terre is a national park, so taking a hike along the villages is a great plan if you have a few days to stay there. 

I had read online that the best way to get to Cinque Terre was by train from La Spezia, so we drove there from Florence (which was about two hours). The plan was to leave the car at the train station's parking lot, but it was full, and after waiting for half and hour, we decided to park somewhere else, about a 20 minute walk through the beautiful town of La Spezia, also full of colorful houses and lemon trees everywhere. Worth the walk! We bought a day pass for €16 to travel to the five different villages. The train goes every half and hour and the time it takes to get from one village to another is very short (the longest is probably 5 minutes). 

The rest was history. Getting lost in the beautiful streets overlooking the sea was a dream come true for me. Every corner was worthy of a picture, and there were special looking points, where most of the tourist photos were taken, that were crowded with people. We were there during the first week of September so it was not too hot, but still very sunny, and according to everyone, one of the most popular travel times of the year. The weather was so nice that you could take a swim in one of the beaches! The best beach town of the five is the last one, Monterosso, without a doubt, with white sands and impossibly clear water between the rocks. 

We only had one afternoon in Cinque Terre, so we skipped one of the villages, Corniglia, because it was the most difficult to access. It is the only one that's not next to the sea, so a bus ride from the train station is necessary. But still, my two favorites were Riomaggiore and Manarola. They are all very similar, a lot of pastel hued houses around a tiny bay, where the locals own boats, or restaurants, or cute little souvenir shops. For lunch, any spot is great. Seriously. I had gnocchis al pesto because the province of Liguria specializes in pesto. It's safe to say it was the best gnocchis I've ever tried in my life. 

An afternoon in Cinque Terre was too short a stay, but it was worth it to go along most of the villages. It's definitely something different than all the usual tourist spots in Italy (even though it was crowded with tourists). And if you're a fan of photography like me, then Cinque Terre is a must. Along with Positano, it's the most photogenic place in Italy!